Recent results from the InP homojunction cell module on the LIPS III spacecraft

The flight performance of the NASA Lewis Research Center's indium phosphide homojunction solar cell module on the LIPS III spacecraft is presented. Four n/sup +/-p diffused junction cells, an early product of an InP development program, were flown. The voltage range of the data prohibits determination of the open-circuit voltage or the maximum power point. However, analysis of the 32 months of short-circuit current data reveals a slight increase, not the 4% decrease expected from radiation tolerance studies. This increase may be due to continual cleaning of possible prelaunch dust contamination or changes in data acquisition system calibration. For all cells, the average short-circuit current remains below prelaunch values.<>